The Bump

We’ve been hitting up moms who are entrepreneurs and businesswomen and finding out what it’s like for them to start and run a company. Now that we’re gearing up for Father’s Day, we thought why not get the behind-the-scenes scoop from a dad who’s similarly juggling career and family? And what better person to talk to than Neil Grimmer, whose company, Plum Organics was — and still is – inspired by his two daughters.

The Bump: What inspired you start Plum Organics?

Neil Grimmer: I was a designer before this. Back in early 2000′s, I also was an Iron Man triathlete and distance runner, and I was making these crazy concoctions for myself so I could do these races. Everyone at work knew this, so one of the assignments I was given was to work with a food company that wanted to realize the future of food. What we came up with was that is was about healthy, more sustainable foods and that it was about healthy, sustainable businesses. It was a unique opportunity to not only create better food, but also a better company. Life changed, and I went from being a designer to being a dad.

When my kids were 1 and 3, my wife and I were packing healthy lunch boxes for my eldest, Paxton, in the morning, and making my youngest, Izzy, squash at 10:00 at night because we were working parents. We thought, there has got to be a better way to offer healthy food to our little ones. We had this idea that active parents needed to find ways not to compromise their values, even if they had crazy, hectic lifestyles. That’s where the food pouch came in. We needed to find packaging that would let us bring kids the healthiest food we could find. It had to be super convenient and as flexible as young parents needed it to be.

TB: So you were the first baby food company to use food pouches?

NG: Yes. That innovation has transformed the category. There wasn’t a whole lot of innovation happening, and baby food companies weren’t engaging young, modern parents who had very busy lives. So the innovation hit at right time. I think we were successful because we were a young, smart brand. We didn’t take it too seriously and knew all the follies of being parent. We wanted to be a brand for those young parents because we are our core consumer, in a way. Bringing that packing to the market meant we could make a product with Greek yogurt and quinoa, that’s jam-packed full of health and nutrition that never really had been a part of that category before.

Discover Plum Organics' complete line of organic baby foods including fruit puree, toddler snacks & more as well as information on the growth and development of healthy babies, portable baby food pouches and reviews.